2. Do some research

Before submitting your request, narrow your request to speed up the process and reduce potential costs.

Be as specific as possible. If you’re looking for a report, for example, provide as many details as you can, including the topic and a date range.

If you’ve never filed a request before, read requests filed by others. The federal government maintains a searchable online database of completed access requests. It will show you the type of documents being requested, and the wording others have used. Someone may have already requested what you’re looking for, in which case you can simply request the information they were given.

3. Know the loopholes

Access laws include long lists of exceptions.

Provincially, a body can refuse to divulge information involving legal opinions, negotiations between public bodies, industrial secrets, confidential personal information, and the administration of justice and public security, among other things.

On the federal side, public bodies also have a checklist.

They can refuse to divulge information obtained in confidence, and records about federal-provincial affairs, international affairs and defence, law enforcement, investigations and security, among other things.

Whether covered by provincial or federal law, a body can opt to divulge only part of a document, blacking out sections it considers exempt from the law.

4. File your request

There is no cost to file a request with Quebec bodies. On the federal side, a $5 “application fee” must be paid when filing a request.

In all cases, photocopying fees may apply, though you could also ask to see the documents in a government office instead, in which case there is no cost.

5. Sit back and wait

After your request has been filed, the body must respond within a certain number of days, depending on the jurisdiction.

But the initial response is often simply a notice that your request has been received — and that the body is using a provision in the law that allows them to have an extension.

For provincial requests, the body has to respond within 20 days and may extend the time limit by an additional 10 days.

Federal bodies must respond within 30 days. But long delays are common. Some federal requests dating from 2009 have yet to be fulfilled, according to information obtained in June by Liberal MP David McGuinty.

6. Fight back if you have to

You can file an appeal if a body rejects your request or only provides partial information.

For provincial appeals, the deadline is 30 days. For federal ones, you have 60 days to file a complaint.

For Quebec bodies, you can ask the Commission d’accès à l’information to review the public body’s response. The commission acts as an administrative tribunal. It first tries to mediate. If that doesn’t work, it holds a hearing at which witnesses can be called. Citizens can represent themselves or hire a lawyer.

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